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Friday Recap

04/22/2017, 7:00am CDT

By USHL

Sioux City and Dubuque advance, Youngstown pushes Chicago to Game 4.

SIOUX CITY MUSKETEERS [2] at DES MOINES BUCCANEERS [1]

(Sioux City wins series 3-0)

Sioux City advanced to their first Western Conference Final since 2014 with a 2-1 win and 3-0 series sweep of the Des Moines Buccaneers. After a scoreless first period that saw the Musketeers outshoot the Buccaneers 12-6, Des Moines opened the scoring 1:29 into the middle frame with Colin Ugbekile's first career playoff goal. About four minutes later, Sioux City tied the game at one, as Charlie Kelleher added his third goal of the series. The game remained even at 1-1 heading into the third period, where Kristian Pospisil broke the tie midway through the final frame with his second goal of the series. The Musketeers were able to hang on for the remainder of the game to earn the series sweep and advance to the Western Conference Final. Eeli Tolvanen added the lone Sioux City assist in the win, and Matiss Kivlenieks moved his record in the Clark Cup Playoffs to 3-0 with a 27-save performance.

Dubuque has now advanced to the Eastern Conference Final for the seventh straight season courtesy of a 7-2 Game 4 victory over the Muskegon Lumberjacks. About four minutes into the game, Arizona Coyotes prospect Patrick Kudla opened the scoring with his first goal of the series, and Cole Guttman doubled the Dubuque lead to 2-0 with just 13 seconds remaining in the first period. The Fighting Saints extended their advantage to 3-0 just nine seconds into the middle frame, courtesy of Jacob Hamacher, but Austin Alger responded eight minutes later to get Muskegon on the board, making it a 3-1 game heading into the third period. Preston and Hamacher found the back of the net just 1:06 apart eight minutes into the third to give the Fighting Saints a 5-1 lead before Will Smith cut it to 5-2 with his first goal of the series. That's as close as the Lumberjacks would get, however, as Michael Boyle and Alexander Steeves found the back of the net just 17 seconds apart late in the game, giving Dubuque the 7-2 win and 3-1 victory in the series. Veli-Matti Tiuraniemi, Jeff Baum and Dallas Gerads all dished out multiple assists, and Jaxon Castor won his third playoff game with 27 saves on 29 Muskegon shots.

Youngstown send the series to a Game 4 with a 4-1 Game 3 victory over the Chicago Steel. Eight minutes into the game, Michael Karow found the back of the net for the only goal in the first period, giving the Phantoms a 1-0 lead heading into the middle frame. After Eduards Tralmaks tied the game for Chicago just 1:49 into the second, Youngstown responded with goals from Marshall Moise and Tommy Apap to take a 3-1 lead into the third period. Seven minutes into the final frame, Brandon Estes completed the scoring with his first goal of the series, giving the Phantoms a 4-1 victory and extending the series. Karow, Max Ellis, Jake Gingell and Austin Pooley all added assists, and Ivan Kulbakov picked up his first win of the series with a 23-save outing.

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the USHL celebrates its 15th season as the nation's only Tier I junior hockey league in 2016-17. 30 or more players from the USHL have been selected in four consecutive NHL Drafts, and more than 400 players on team rosters last season committed to NCAA Division I schools, further establishing the USHL as the world’s foremost producer of junior hockey talent.